The BBC gets to the bottom of being "an indie"
Sociologists from the future, take heed: Everything you need to know about indie-rock culture awaits you here, boiled down into a nice, quick, seven-minute exposition of one of the most dominant subcultures of the early 21st century. That is, if the BBC’s exploration of youth culture doesn’t collapse in upon itself and form an ironic singularity that destroys life as we know it. Narrated by 17-year-old Amy, who boldly declares herself “an indie” in the segment’s opening seconds, it crams nearly every hipster-doofus cliché available into the mix. Don’t believe it? How about discussions about the NME, Razorlight, and Babyshambles? Yep. Talks about painting, photography, and playing in a band part time? You betcha. Visiting art galleries? Vintage clothing shops? Vegan cafes? Skinny jeans? Gangs of kids energetically denying being hipsters despite obvious evidence to the contrary? Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. All it needs to be complete is incidental music by The Cribs and Kaiser Chiefs. Oh wait, it has that, too.